


Natural Selection

by DisguisedasInnocent



Series: Femslash February 2016 [17]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Pauna Escape, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 06:11:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6107540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisguisedasInnocent/pseuds/DisguisedasInnocent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Survival of the Fittest means that only the best suited for survival flourish. In the case of Clarke and Lexa, it would seem that they are best suited for survival together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Natural Selection

The Commander flicked her attention between the shadows of the forest, made long by the early hour of the day, and Klark kom Skaikru. The young leader of the Sky People slept beside a small fire—made by her hands under Lexa’s understanding guidance—her face serene in her dreams. The dark haired woman let her eyes trace down the curve of Clarke’s nose, brush across her smooth cheekbones, and dance around the length of the woman's jaw. The corners of The Commander's lips rose at the sight of the shallow dimple on Clarke’s chin and her heart leapt at the urge to follow the path of her eyes with her fingertips.

Whilst awake The Commander could see the weight of her people’s needs resting heavily on Clarke Griffin’s shoulders, but in sleep, the woman’s face relaxed and her shoulders lightened. Lexa’s heart ached to see the same lightness painted across Clarke’s cheeks in her waking hours.

The silence of the forest broke with a roar—pained, anguished, and scared—that wrenched the sombre mood apart at its seams.

Clarke twitched awake beside the fire and turned to peer backwards through the trees to the wreckage of the pauna’s zoo.

“It’s okay,” The Commander murmured, “you’re safe.”

“How’s your arm?” Clarke asked, her eyes glancing first into The Commander’s rich green gaze, before darting down to roam across the makeshift sling strewn around Lexa’s shoulders.

Lexa lifted one shoulder into a shrug, “hurts.” The Commander listened to the pauna roaring in the distance and the sound of her own heart throbbing in her eardrums as she watched Clarke.

“We should go,” Clarke muttered after a moment as she shifted to lever her body off the ground, “that cage won’t hold forever.”

The Commander watched Clarke’s eyes dull and dip away from her gaze once more, and her heart thundered painfully beneath her breast, “Wait.” The woman called, lifting her body off the ground before padding the three steps needed to stand in front of Clarke. “I was wrong about you Clarke,” she whispered, her voice soft and apologetic, “your heart shows no sign of weakness.”

Clarke blinked at Lexa’s words. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her mind whirled from the softness of The Commander’s voice. A fresh roar stole her attention from the dark haired woman, sending Clarke’s mind rushing back to the pauna’s cage. “The cage won’t hold,” she whispered, repeating the words over and over in her mind, until the pieces of the puzzle slotted into place. “I think I know how to take Mount Weather.”

Lexa tilted her head to the side and ran her eyes across Clarke’s face.

“We’ve been trying to get inside,” Clarke said, “trying to think of a way to get our army into the mountain, but we don’t need to do that. They’ve already let us in.”

The Commander’s brow furrowed, “What are you talking about?”

“Your army is already there,” Clarke said with a grin straining her lips, “locked in cages. We just need someone on the inside to let them out.”

“Bellamy,” The boy’s name slipped from Lexa’s lips on the back of a surprised exhale, “you have faith in him?”

“I do.” Clarke nodded her head immediately.

“Then,” Lexa murmured, “I hope your faith is well placed, because if he can’t get inside we can’t win.”

“He will.” Clarke vowed, hope and certainty seeping into her tone as she turned to stamp out the embers of the fire. “Lexa, this is going to work. Come on, we need to get back to Tondc.”

“It is not far.” The Commander commented. “Three miles or so to the south from here.”

“I’m glad that you know where we are,” Clarke said with a soft chuckle and a shake of her head. “I kind of just ran for it.”

Lexa hummed, pushing down on the urge to smile at the rueful look on Clarke’s face, “I know. Trikru are trained from youth to be able to orientate themselves in the forest.”

“Oh, I know about it.” Clarke said before pursing her lips. “Well, the theory of it anyway. On the Ark, they taught us things, Earth Skills. We weren’t ever meant to be the ones that came back to Earth, but they wanted the knowledge to be passed down to the next generations.”

“Knowing is one thing,” Lexa murmured, “applying knowledge is another.”

Clarke let her head dip into a nod. “That I understand.”

“We should leave Clarke,” Lexa said, “my people will be looking for us now, given that we did not return yesterday, we should not linger.”

“Right,” Clarke dipped her head into a nod. “Lead the way, Commander.”

The Commander let her gaze slip across Clarke’s form appraisingly, searching the woman for a hint of injury or a weapon, before reaching down to slide a blade out of her boot. “Take this,” Lexa offered turning the hilt towards Clarke as she reached out towards the woman. “The forest is a dangerous place to be without a weapon, and I cannot defend the both of us in my current condition.”

“I don’t know,” Clarke let the corners of her lips lift up into a small smile. “You seemed as if you were going to give it a good attempt back in the cage.”

“You saved my life Klark kom Skaikru,” Lexa murmured, “I could not let you die without attempting to save yours if it were to come down to it. Yet, I’d prefer to avoid all fights until we get back to Tondisi.”

“I told you Commander,” Clarke grinned, “your fight cannot be over yet, I still need you.”

“Sha,” The Commander said with a shallow dip of her chin, “But, it would seem that I need you as well.”

“We can do this,” Clarke vowed. “We can get our people out of Mount Weather.”

“Perhaps,” Lexa hummed her eyes sliding away from Clarke towards the forest as she stepped out between the trees. “Your heart might not be weak, Clarke of the Sky People, but it is soft. You will need to harden it to lead your people.” The Commander felt her heart throb in response to her own words, “ _And I will need to harden mine_ ,” she thought.


End file.
